ISS CubeSat Deployment

NanoRacks’ International Space Station CubeSat Deployer provides a commercial gateway to the extreme environment of space for Earth and deep space observation.

CubeSat Deployer

CubeSat Deployer

CubeSat Deployer

CubeSat Deployer

The NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) is a self-contained CubeSat deployer system that mechanically and electrically isolates CubeSats from the ISS, cargo resupply vehicles, and ISS crew. The NRCSD design is compliant with NASA ISS flight safety requirements and is space qualified.

The NRCSD is a rectangular tube that consists of anodized aluminum plates, base plate assembly, access panels, and deployer doors. The NRCSD deployer doors are located on the forward end, the base plate assembly is located on the aft end, and access panels are provided on the top. The inside walls of the NRCSD are a smooth bore design to minimize and/or preclude hang-up or jamming of CubeSat appendages during deployment, should these become released prematurely. However, deployable systems shall be designed such that there is no intentional contact with the inside walls of the NRCSD.

For a deployment, the platform is moved outside via the Kibo Module’s Airlock and slide table that allows the Japanese Experimental Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) to move the deployers to the correct orientation for the satellite release and also provides command and control to the deployers. Each NRCSD is capable of holding six CubeSat Units – allowing it to launch 1U, 2U, 3U, 4U, 5U, and 6U (2×3 and 1×6) CubeSats.